"Akaza."
Kairo Retsu now stood alone in front of Akaza. He removed the swaying eel-head hood from his head and spoke to the Upper Rank Three before him:
"Before we begin our battle in earnest, allow me to introduce myself."
"I, Kairo Retsu, am… a Monster Hunter."
Standing tall and firm before Akaza, Kairo declared:
"The one who fought you earlier—Joseph Joestar—is my comrade. He's a hunter of the first generation and a Ripple user. As for me, I currently serve as the Grand Guildmaster of the Monster Hunter Assembly."
"...You?"
Akaza glared at him, veins bulging faintly on his forehead.
"Don't be ridiculous. I feel no trained fighting spirit from you at all. You're nothing more than an ordinary man who's never experienced battle."
"You, someone like you, couldn't possibly come from the same place as that Joseph Joestar."
"You have no right to fight me! You're just a weakling!!!"
"Where are the others?!"
Akaza's brow furrowed further. Having awakened from the hallucinations only to see Kairo standing alone before him added more fuel to his rising fury.
"Bring them out! Or I'll just kill you and hunt them down afterward!"
"Fighting spirit is meaningless."
Kairo countered calmly:
"There's no need to look for them. I already ordered them to move beyond your Compass Needle's sensory range. Besides… this is a hunt—for you, Akaza."
He tapped his Insect Glaive lightly.
"You're right—I'm not from the same place as Joseph Joestar. I don't even fully understand what this 'fighting spirit' is that you're talking about. I only know it's likely something related to willpower or mental force…"
"So do you understand now why I stayed behind?"
Kairo bared his teeth in a taunting grin:
"For an opponent like you, someone with no fighting spirit like me is the perfect one to face you head-on."
"Strength? Fighting spirit? Countless years of training?"
Kairo deliberately provoked Akaza with sharp words:
"Do those things really mean anything? Do all your years of training mean anything?"
"What are you so angry about?"
Kairo raised a hand and gently tapped his temple, smiling broadly as he said:
"Your temples are swelling with rage, and the veins on your forehead are bulging."
"What are you angry about? Is it because a 'weakling' like me is provoking you?"
"Or is it—"
He smiled even more tauntingly.
"You're actually mad because of those hallucinations? Because of Tanjiro, perhaps?"
"You don't even know what you're angry about."
Still tapping his temple, Kairo continued:
"The more you fight us, the more furious you get—and the less you understand why. Isn't that just sad?"
"What are you trying to say?"
Akaza's voice grew lower, more dangerous.
"Are you trying to stall with words? That sort of thing… is meaningless."
"Once Lord Muzan recovers, this battle of yours will be worthless."
"Besides… weaklings like you can't stop me."
"I'll kill you soon enough, and then I'll find the others and kill them too."
Akaza took his stance against Kairo.
"The words of the weak aren't worth hearing."
"My views differ from yours."
Kairo retracted his mocking smile and grew solemn.
"Strength and weakness are just your own definitions."
"Life is a cycle—endless and repeating. And that cycle is nature itself."
He declared:
"Muzan is a monster who broke that natural cycle. That's why, under the gaze of the world, he will inevitably be hunted down. As for you…"
"Akaza, you're nothing more than a pitiful wretch."
"You don't even understand what you're angry about. You've forgotten the very reason you sought strength in the first place."
"This too was a subject of discussion among the four of us hunters," Kairo said calmly, though his words were difficult for Akaza to fully grasp.
"We debated what we should do with you."
"And in the end, we reached a unanimous conclusion…"
Kairo raised his thumb and drew it across his neck.
"We will send you to hell with our own hands—just as your father, your master, and your wife would have wished."
"So listen up, you damn demon. The sins you committed after becoming a demon will never disappear. That's why 'Akaza' must die—to atone."
Raising his voice, Kairo shouted with righteous conviction:
"I'm telling you up front: I'll use every means necessary to eliminate you. As the one who devised this plan, I'll fight you head-on—and as for the others…"
He bared his teeth in a grim grin:
"They're all pieces already placed on the board, waiting to drag you into hell from the shadows."
"So…"
Kairo curled his fingers in provocation.
"Come on, then—kill me in a fair fight."
"In that case… as you wish!"
Akaza no longer suppressed his rage.
In an instant, he crossed the short distance between them and appeared right in front of Kairo.
Destructive Death—
The compass formation bloomed beneath his feet instantly. Akaza confirmed that within his detection range, there were no other fighting spirits aside from Kairo's.
Without hesitation, he threw a punch at Kairo.
This man had never seen real battle—he could tell that the moment he got up close. Even now, with Akaza already in front of him, this "weakling" was only just starting to raise his weapon.
But to Akaza, those movements were all far too slow.
Who did this guy think he was to talk like that?
What right did he have to act so righteous—like he actually knew Akaza's past?
Becoming a demon had been centuries ago! How could some human possibly know anything about that?
Just imagining that Kairo might be lying to him made Akaza feel like his very insides were churning.
And so—he struck downward with a heavy blow, aiming to obliterate Kairo's skull in a single strike.
But—
The moment he made contact, Akaza felt something was off.